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A Definition of Sustainable Development for WD
On the basis of our consultations, and review of leading SD research, WD has agreed on a broad definition of sustainable development. This is an important step forward, as it creates a context for reviewing projects and operations. Sustainable development:
- is an economic state where the demands placed upon the environment by people and commerce can be met without reducing the capacity of the environment to provide for future generations;1
- is economic development that has a positive long-term social and/or environmental benefit; and
- meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.2
1 Paul Hawkens, The Ecology of Commerce, p. 139.
2 Brundtland Commission, Our Common Future.